Display mount assembly

ABSTRACT

A TV wall mounting device includes a wall mount box with vertical supports, a display mount receiving a TV, and an extending/contracting portion between the box and the display mount. The extending/contracting portion has lower and upper arms rotatably attached to the wall mount with rear axles, a pair of linear actuators rotatably attached to the wall mount, a front portion that rises and lowers with action of the actuators, and a horizontally-swiveling portion that is raised and lowered with the front portion and is capable of rotating right-left with respect to the front portion. The display mount is attached to the horizontally-swiveling portion. Parallel operation of the linear actuators, wherein each actuator extends and retracts while keeping the same length as the other actuator, causes the display mount to go up and down. Differential operation of the actuators causes the display mount to rotate right and left.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/553,961, entitled DROP DOWN TELEVISION MOUNTINGSYSTEM, filed on Sep. 17, 2017, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein, including text,figures, claims, tables, and computer program listing appendices (ifpresent), and all other matter in the United States provisional patentapplication.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This document generally relates to the field of retractable/extendablemounts for appliances. More particularly, this document relates toretractable/extendable wall mounts for displays such as television sets(TVs).

BACKGROUND

A good mounting place for a large flat screen display (such as a TV) isoften high on a wall, for example, above a fireplace. Such mountinglocation may make it necessary or desirable to lower the display foruser watching from a convenient location in a room. In the course oflowering the TV, it may need to clear an obstacle, for example, afireplace below the mounting location. The force for lowering andraising the TV may be provided, for example, by linear actuators.

It is desirable to allow convenient watching of the TV from some angle,that is, for user watching positions that are not necessarily directlyin front of the wall mount. Towards this end, a swiveling mechanism maybe included to provide for right-left swiveling with respect to the TV'svertical axis. Borrowing from aeronautics (Tait-Bryan angles) andanalogizing the TV to an aircraft with its nose pointing in thedirection normal to the screen and pointing away from the wall, theswiveling would provide yaw or heading adjustment; we can alternativelycall the angle that the axis normal to screen would form with an axisnormal to the wall an “azimuth,” “azimuth angle,” “swivel position,” or“swivel angle.”

Typically, when the TV is raised, it should end up substantially flatagainst the wall with portions of the wall mount assembly retracted intothe wall, so that the TV and the wall mount assembly do not protrude toofar into the room. A residential wall may be about 3½ inches inthickness. Facilitating mounting of the wall mount mechanism inside suchrelatively thin walls may be important.

A wall mount assembly may be installed in a smart home or business,i.e., a building with various interconnected appliances, securitysystems, monitoring systems, and other interconnected electronicdevices. Facilitating mounting and operation of wall mount assemblies insuch buildings may be important.

A wall mount assembly may or may not have its own remote control device.It may be important, in some circumstances, to activate the wall mountwithout a separate remote control device. For wall mount assemblies withseparate remote control devices, it may be desirable to facilitateinstallation of the receivers of the remote control devices and ensuringreliable operation of the remote control devices, regardless of theposition of the TV.

A wall mount assembly may have a broader mechanical operational envelopethan the particular installation environment allows, potentially causingthe wall mount assembly and the TV mounted on it to collide with variousitems of the environment, such as a mantel/fireplace, side walls,furniture, and other obstructions. Facilitating mounting of wall mountassemblies in such locations and avoiding repeated bumping intoenvironmental obstructions may be important.

When a wall mount assembly is installed above a fireplace, there is adanger that a fire will be lit in the fireplace, intentionally or not,while the unit is extended, causing the display mounted on the wallmount assembly to overheat and be destroyed. Facilitating safe mountingand operation of wall mount assemblies in such locations may beimportant.

Wall mount assemblies may need to accommodate various displays.Facilitating operation of wall mount assemblies with a range of displayweights may also be important.

SUMMARY

A need in the art exists for new and better techniques and arrangementsfor mounting devices such as displays and TVs. A need in the art existsfor thin wall mount assemblies for various devices, including displaysand TVs. A need in the art exists for new and better techniques for wallmount assemblies that can communicate with smart home/business devices.A need in the art exists for wall mount assemblies that areautomatically activated in response to changed ON/OFF states of thedisplays or TVs installed on the wall mount assemblies. A need in theart exists for wall mount assemblies with manually programmable stops(viewing positions) and programmable operational envelope limitations. Aneed in the art exists for wall mount assemblies withautomatically-learned safety stops and operational mechanical envelopelimitations. A need in the art exists for wall mount assemblies thatprevent overheating of the displays/TVs installed on them. A need in theart exists for powered wall mount assemblies that can operate withdisplays/TVs of various weights.

Embodiments, variants, and examples described in this document aredirected to apparatus and methods that may satisfy one or more of theabove described needs and/or other needs.

In an embodiment, a mounting device (100) includes a wall mountingportion (120) configured to attach to a wall and comprising verticalsupport members (156A, 156B, 156C), a display mounting portion (130)configured to receive a display (110), and an extending/contractingportion (140) between the wall mounting portion and the display mountingportion. The extending/contracting portion includes the followingcomponents: a first lower arm (144A) having first lower arm rear andfront ends; a second lower arm (144B) having second lower arm rear andfront ends; a first upper arm (142A) having first upper arm rear andfront ends; a second upper arm (142B) having second upper arm rear andfront ends; a rear upper axle (141A) extending through the verticalsupport members and rotatably attaching the first upper arm at the firstupper arm rear end and the second upper arm at the second upper arm rearend to the wall mounting portion; a rear lower axle (141B) parallel tothe rear upper axle and extending through the wall mounting portionbelow the rear upper axle, the rear lower axle rotatably attaching thefirst lower arm at the first lower arm rear end and the second lower armat the second lower arm rear end to the wall mounting portion; a firstlinear actuator (146) having rear and front ends, the first linearactuator rear end being rotatably attached to the wall mounting portionbelow the rear upper axle; a second linear actuator (148) having rearand front ends, the second linear actuator rear end being rotatablyattached to the wall mounting portion below the rear upper axle; a leftfront vertical member (154A) having upper and lower ends; a right frontvertical member (154B) having upper and lower ends; an upper horizontalfront member (165A, 161A) having left and right ends, the upperhorizontal front member left end being rotatably attached to the firstupper arm front end and to the left front vertical member upper end, theupper horizontal front member right end being rotatably attached to thesecond upper arm front end and to the right front vertical member upperend; a lower horizontal front member (165B, 161B) having left and rightends, the lower horizontal front member left end being rotatablyattached to the first lower arm front end and to the left front verticalmember lower end, the lower horizontal front member right end beingrotatably attached to the second lower arm front end and to the rightfront vertical member lower end; a vertical rod (158) attached to theupper horizontal front member midway between the upper horizontal frontmember left and right ends, and attached to the lower horizontal frontmember midway between the lower horizontal front member left and rightends; and a horizontally swiveling portion (159) including a verticalrotational component (1598), one or more horizontal attachmentcomponents (159A, 159C), and a joint attachment bar (159D) having a leftactuator attachment joint (163A) connected to the first linear actuatorfront end and a right actuator attachment joint (163B) connected to thesecond linear actuator front end, the vertical rotational componentconfigured to rotate right-left about the vertical rod together with thejoint attachment bar in response to differential extension andcontraction of the first and second linear actuators, the one or morehorizontal attachment components configured to rotate right-left withthe vertical rotational component and the joint attachment bar, thedisplay mounting portion being configured to rotate right-left togetherwith the one or more horizontal attachment components. The mountingdevice is configured to move the display mounting portion vertically inresponse to the first and second linear actuators parallel operation androtate the display mounting portion right-left in response to the firstand second linear actuators differential operation.

In aspects, the upper horizontal front member includes an upper frontaxle and an upper front tubular component surrounding the upper frontaxle, the lower horizontal front member includes a lower front axle anda lower front tubular component surrounding the lower front axle, andthe vertical rotational component includes a tubular portion surroundingthe vertical rod.

In aspects, the first linear actuator rear end is attached to the wallmounting portion forward of the rear upper axle, and the second linearactuator rear end is attached to the wall mounting portion forward ofthe rear upper axle.

In aspects, the second linear actuator is substantially the same as thefirst linear actuator, such as the same model or analogous model withsimilar or identical dimensions (particularly diameter/thickness within10 percent) and similar or identical performance (force or weightlifting ability within 10 percent).

In aspects, the first linear actuator includes a first position sensorconfigured to indicate extension length of the first linear actuator,and the second linear actuator includes a second position sensorconfigured to indicate extension length of the second linear actuator.

In aspects, the mounting device further includes an electronic subsystemcoupled to the first and second linear actuators to control extensionand contraction of the first and second linear actuators, and to readthe first and second position sensors.

In aspects, the first and second position sensors are or include halleffect sensors.

In aspects, the electronic subsystem includes a processing device andone or more memories, at least one of the one or more memories storingcode executable by the processing device.

In aspects, the electronic subsystem further includes a remote controlreceiver coupled to the processing device to allow the processing deviceto read commands received by the remote control receiver from a handheldremote controller of the mounting device.

In aspects, the remote control receiver is an infrared receiver designedto receive the commands from the handheld remote controller through aninfrared channel.

In aspects, the remote control receiver is a radio frequency (RF)receiver designed to receive the commands from the handheld remotecontroller through an RF channel.

In aspects, the code includes instructions to receive commands to changeelevation and azimuth of the display mounting portion, and to providedrive to the first and second linear actuators to execute the commands.

In aspects, the code further includes instructions to memorize elevationand azimuth of the display mounting portion.

In aspects, the code further includes instructions to obtain readings ofthe first and second position sensors and to memorize elevation andazimuth of the display mounting portion based on the readings of thefirst and second position sensors.

In aspects, the code further includes instructions to receive commandsto place the display mounting portion at the memorized elevation andazimuth, and to drive the first and second linear actuators so that thedisplay mounting portion is placed in the memorized elevation andazimuth.

In aspects, the code further includes instructions to receive commandsto memorize a soft stop at the memorized elevation and azimuth, and toprevent driving the first and second linear actuators beyond thememorized elevation and azimuth.

In aspects, the mounting device further includes means for automaticallylearning one or more soft stops.

In aspects, the mounting device further includes a temperature sensor,and the code further includes instructions to obtain readings of thetemperature sensor and to drive the first and second linear actuators toretract the wall mounting portion in response to one or more of thereadings exceeding a predetermined maximum temperature limit.

In an embodiment, a mounting device includes a wall mounting portionconfigured to attach to a wall and a display mounting portion configuredto receive a display. The mounting device also includes anextending/contracting portion between the wall mounting portion and thedisplay mounting portion, the extending contracting portion includingone or more linear actuators, each linear actuator of the one or morelinear actuators having a position sensor. The mounting deviceadditionally includes a processing device and memory coupled to theprocessing device and storing machine executable code, the processingdevice being configured to control extension and contraction of the oneor more linear actuators and to read the position sensors of the one ormore linear actuators. The mounting device further includes anelectrical subsystem configured to receive electrical power and toprovide electrical power to the display mounted on the display mountingportion. The electrical subsystem includes a sensor of current consumedby the display. The sensor of the current is coupled to the processingdevice so that the processing device is configured to obtain readings ofthe current consumed by the display. The code includes instructions toimplement means for identifying when the display is turned ON andplacing the display mounting portion in a predetermined position inresponse to the display being turned ON. In aspects, the code furtherincludes instructions to implement means for identifying when thedisplay is turned OFF and retracting the display mounting portion inresponse to the display being turned OFF.

In an embodiment, a mounting device includes a wall mounting portionconfigured to attach to a wall, a display mounting portion configured toreceive a display, and an extending/contracting portion between the wallmounting portion and the display mounting portion. Theextending/contracting portion includes means for varying elevation andazimuth of the display mounting portion.

These and other features and aspects of selected embodiments, variants,and examples consistent with the present disclosure will be betterunderstood with reference to the following description, drawings, andappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a lower left-side perspective view illustrating selectedcomponents of a display wall mount assembly with a TV mounted on it;

FIG. 2 is a front right-side perspective view of the wall mount assemblyof FIG. 1 with certain parts removed;

FIG. 3 is a partial upper rear right-side perspective view of the wallmount assembly of FIG. 1, with an inset magnifying certain elements;

FIG. 4 is a partial right perspective view of a multi-axes hub of themount assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front left-side perspective view of the wall mount assemblyof FIG. 1, in an extended/lowered configuration and without the TV;

FIG. 6 is a right-side plan view of the wall mount assembly of FIG. 1,in the extended/lowered configuration and without the TV;

FIG. 7 is a right-side plan view of the wall mount assembly of FIG. 1without the TV, in a retracted configuration;

FIG. 8 illustrates selected components of an electronic subsystem of awall mount system such as the wall mount assembly of FIG. 1, configuredin accordance with selected features described in this document;

FIG. 9 illustrates selected components of an electrical subsystem of awall mount system such as the wall mount assembly of FIG. 1, configuredin accordance with selected features described in this document;

FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram illustrating selected steps anddecision blocks of a process for setting ON current threshold fordetermining when the display/TV mounted on the wall mount assembly suchas the wall mount assembly of FIG. 1 is turned ON; and

FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram illustrating selected steps of aprocess for enabling the user or the installer to program viewingpositions of a wall mount assembly such as the wall mount assembly ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to one or more embodiments that areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, their features, andalternative embodiments. Same reference numerals are used in thedrawings and the description to refer to the same apparatus elements andmethod steps (if applicable). The drawings are in simplified form, notnecessarily to scale, and omit apparatus and articles of manufactureelements and method steps that can be added to the describedapparatuses, articles of manufacture, and methods, while possiblyincluding certain optional elements and steps. For purposes ofconvenience and clarity, directional terms, such as top, bottom, left,right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may beused with respect to the accompanying drawings. These andsimilar/analogous directional terms should not necessarily be construedto limit the scope of the invention(s). The reference to “right” and“left” are generally intended to refer to, respectively, the right sideand left side of a user standing in front of the TV and facing the TV,in a viewing position. The references to “above” and “below” aregenerally intended to refer to, respectively, higher and lower positionas in normal installation as shown in the drawings. The references to“front” and “rear” are generally intended to refer to, respectively,positions farther away from the wall and nearer the wall as in normalinstallation as shown in the drawings. The description of each Figureshould be interpreted in conjunction with the Figure itself and with theother related Figures.

The words such as “connect,” “couple,” “attach,” and similar terms withtheir inflections do not necessarily denote direct and immediateconnections/attachments; they include within their meaningdirect/immediate connections, couplings, and attachments; and alsoconnections, couplings, attachments using intermediate elements ordevices. This applies to electrical/electronic and mechanicalconnections.

The words “embodiment,” “variant,” “example,” and similar words andexpressions as used herein refer to a particular apparatus, process, orarticle of manufacture, and not necessarily to the same apparatus,process, or article of manufacture. Thus, “one embodiment” (or a similarexpression) used in one place or context may refer to a particularapparatus, process, or article of manufacture; the same or a similarexpression in a different place or context may refer to a differentapparatus, process, or article of manufacture. The expression“alternative embodiment” and similar words and phrases are used toindicate one of a number of different possible embodiments, variants, orexamples. The number of possible embodiments, variants, or examples isnot necessarily limited to two or any other quantity. Characterizationof an item as “exemplary” means that the item is used as an example.Such characterization does not necessarily mean that the embodiment,variant, or example is a preferred one; the embodiment, variant, orexample may but need not be a currently preferred embodiment, variant,or example. All embodiments, variants, and examples are described forillustration purposes and do not necessarily strictly limit theinvention(s) disclosed.

Some definitions have been explicitly provided above. Other and furtherexplicit and implicit definitions and clarifications of definitions maybe found throughout this document.

FIG. 1 is a lower left-side perspective view illustrating selectedcomponents of a wall mount assembly 100 with a TV 110 mounted on it.FIG. 2 is a front right-side perspective view of the wall mount assembly100, without the TV 110 and without certain component(s) shown inFIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partial, rear upper right-side perspective view of aportion of the wall mount assembly 100, with an inset magnifying theelements within the circle AA. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of amulti-axes hub 400 of the mount assembly 100. FIG. 5 is anotherperspective view of the wall mount assembly 100, in amostly-extended/lowered configuration and without the TV 110. Numeral510 shown in FIG. 5 designates optional locations for temperaturesensors, which will be discussed further below. FIG. 6 is a right-sideplan view of the wall mount assembly 100, in the mostly-extended/loweredconfiguration and without the TV 110. FIG. 7 is a right-side plan viewof the wall mount assembly 100, in a completely retracted configurationand without the TV 110.

The wall mount assembly 100 includes a box-like wall mounting portion120, which is attached to (inserted into) a wall above a fireplace 115;a display mounting portion with the TV 110 mounted on its front in FIGS.1 and 3; and an extending/contracting portion 140 between the wallmounting portion 120 and the display mounting portion 130. In FIG. 1,the extending/contracting portion 140 is shown in a partially extendedconfiguration, with the TV 110 away from the wall. Theextending/contracting portion 140 may lower the TV 110 further; theextending/contracting portion 140 may also raise the TV 110 above thefireplace, to be close to the wall (flat or substantially flat with thewall, possibly slightly angling forward). In the retractedconfiguration, the extending/contracting portion 140 may be retractedsubstantially inside the wall mounting portion 120. As shown in FIG. 1,the TV 110 is swiveled somewhat to the right.

The extending/retracting portion 140 includes upper arms 142A and 142B;lower arm 144A and 144B; a wall mounting bracket 156 with verticalsupports 156A/156B/156C and a lower horizontal member (obscured in theFigures) connecting the vertical supports 156A/156B/156C; top covers142C (rear) and 142D (front); bottom cover 144C; linear actuators 146and 148; a vertical rod 158; upper front axle 161A and its tube cover165A; lower front axle 161B and its tube cover 165B; vertical frontmembers 154A/154B; and a horizontally swiveling portion 159 thatincludes an upper display mounting bar 159A, a vertical tube member 159Bsurrounding and rotating about the vertical rod 158, a lower displaymounting bar 159C, a joint attachment bar 159D (FIGS. 3 and 4), anactuator attachment joint 163B on the right side of the joint attachmentbar 159D and an analogous actuator attachment joint on the left side ofthe joint attachment bar 159D (which is obscured in the Figures, andwhich may be referred to as joint 163A).

The upper arms 142A/142B and the lower arms 144A/144B are attached tothe wall mounting bracket 156 with rear axles 141A (upper) and 141B(lower, FIGS. 6 and 7), respectively, and can rotate relative to thewall mounting bracket 156 about their respective axles, within limitedranges. The rotation ranges are sufficient to lower the TV 110 intovarious positions and raise the TV 110 to the wall, next to the wallmounting portion 120, with the extending/contracting portion 140completely retracted into the wall mounting portion 120. The lower endof the ranges may be adjustable, for examples, by “soft” stops as willbe described further below, or by means similar to those shown anddescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/655,805,Atty Docket Ref MM002Prov, filed on or about 10 Apr. 2018, and commonlyowned with the present application. The rear axles 141A/141B may be, forexample, rods or bolts capped with nuts on their ends. The axle 141A maygo through the wall mounting portion 120 from one side to the other sideand provide support/attachment to the upper arms 142A and 142B; theremay also be two rear upper axles, one on the left side supporting theupper arm 142A, and one on the right supporting the upper arm 142B.Similarly, the rear lower axle 141B may go through the wall mountingportion 120 from one side to the other side and providesupport/attachment to the lower arms 144A and 144B; there may also betwo rear lower axles, one on the left side supporting the lower arm144A, and one on the right supporting the lower arm 144B. As shown inthe Figures, the axle 141B is located not just lower than the axle 141A,but also forward (further from the wall, nearer the TV 110) of thelocation of the axle 141A.

The wall mounting bracket 156 may be attached to the wall mountingportion 120 with various means, for example, screws, nuts, or welds. Thewall mounting bracket 156 may also be formed integrally with the wallmounting portion 120.

The upper arms 142A/142B and the lower arms 144A/144B are also attachedto the front vertical front members 154A/154B with axles (e.g., rods,bolts) 161A and 161B, and can rotate relative to the vertical frontmembers 154A/154B as the extending/contracting portion 140 is extendedand retracted. This arrangement and its variants may be analogous to theattachment of the arms 142A/142B and 144A/144B to the wall mountingbracket 156. The top covers 142C/142D and the bottom cover 144C addstructural integrity to the extending/contracting portion 140, concealportions of the mechanism from view, and reduce the amount of externalmatter such as dust/dirt from entering the extending/contracting portion140. A cross member 142E also adds structural integrity to theextending/contracting portion 140.

The linear actuators 146/148 are attached on one end to the wallmounting bracket or to the wall mounting portion 120. For example, thelinear actuators 146/148 may be attached to the wall mounting bracket156 directly, or with another component such as an actuator mountingblock, which block may be adjustable in the vertical dimension (with acalibration screw, for example) for varying the force provided by thelinear actuators 146/148 and accommodating displays of varying weight.The linear actuators 146/148 may rotate about their rear points ofattachment to the mounting bracket 156 or the wall mounting portion 120.The rear attachment points of the linear actuators 146/148 may also beforward (further from the wall) of the axle 141A. As shown in theFigures, the attachment points of the linear actuators 146/148 aresubstantially in the same vertical plane as the axle 141B, in variants,the linear actuators are attached to the axle 141B and rotatethereabout. This arrangement, however, is not a strict requirement forall embodiments. On the other end, proximate the display mountingportion 130, the linear actuator 148 is attached to the joint attachmentbar 159D at the joint 163B: and the linear actuator 146 is attached tothe joint attachment bar 159D at the joint 163A (obscured in theFigures) at the left end of the joint attachment bar 159D. The linearactuators 146/148 may be substantially the same, for example, the samesize, particularly in diameter, length, and performance (force that itcan apply and/or weight it can lift); the linear actuators 146/148 maybe of the same make/model; one of the linear actuators 146/148 may be acounterpart of the other linear actuator 148/146, but designed foropposite side installation (left-versus-right or right-versus-left).

The horizontally swiveling portion 159 can swivel right-left about thevertical rod 158. The display mounting portion 130 is attached to thehorizontally swiveling portion 159, as can be seen in FIG. 3 and itsinset, so that the display mounting portion 130 can swivel right-leftwith the horizontally swiveling portion 159. The TV 110 is attached tothe display mounting portion 130 and swivels right-left with it.

In the fully-retracted position, the weight of the TV 110 (or anotherdisplay in its place) is supported by the linear actuators 146/148.Because the direction of the force exerted by the weight of the TV 110is downward and the linear actuators 146/148 are in a vertical ornear-vertical position (as can be understood from, e.g., FIG. 7), thetorque due to the weight is small and is easily counteracted by themotor-gearbox combinations of the linear actuators 146/148 even when noelectrical energy drives the linear actuators 146/148. The wall mountassembly 100 may thus remain in this retracted position withoutapplication of additional forces. To extend/lower the TV 110, the linearactuators 146/148 are activated to cause them to shorten and therebypull the TV 110 down and away from the wall, as the upper arms 142A/142Band the lower arms 144A/144B rotate about their respective axles 141Aand 141B; from the extended position, application of opposite electricaldrive to lengthen the actuators 146/148 pushes the TV 110 up and nearerthe wall. The geometry of the wall mount assembly 100 is therefore suchthat the shortening of the linear actuators 146/148 causes the TV 110 toextend from the wall and be lowered; and vice versa, the lengthening ofthe linear actuators 146/148 raises the TV 110 and moves it nearer thewall.

The discussion in the previous paragraph assumes that the two linearactuators 146/148 work together, in parallel, i.e., extending andretracting by the same distance, i.e., exactly the same distance orsubstantially the same distance (within the limit of accuracy of thelinear actuators). Such operation may be referred to as “paralleloperation.” But consider starting at some vertical position, such as thepositions shown in FIGS. 1/5/6, with both linear actuators at theextension same length, and then driving a first linear actuator toshorten while at the same time driving the second linear actuator tolengthen. As a first approximation, if the incremental extension of thesecond linear actuator is approximately the same as the incrementalretraction of the first linear actuator, the vertical position of thewall mount assembly 100 and the TV 110 will remain the same. But thehorizontally swiveling portion 159 will rotate around the vertical rod158. If the linear actuator 146 is extended and the linear actuator 148is retracted, the horizontally swiveling portion 159, the displaymounting portion 130, and the TV 110, will turn right. And vice versa,if the linear actuator is retracted and the linear actuator 148 isextended, the horizontally swiveling portion 159, the display mountingportion 130, and the TV 110, will turn left. When the linear actuatorsare operated so that the horizontally swiveling portion 159, the displaymounting portion 130, and the TV 110 swivel without change in thevertical position (at least without a substantial change in the verticalposition such that it would not be noticeable by the viewer of the TV110 in normal viewing circumstances), the operation of the linearactuators may be referred to as “differential operation.”

In the immediately preceding paragraph we say that the incrementalextension is “approximately equal” to the incremental retraction, butthe actual relationship between the incremental extension andincremental retraction to keep the vertical position constant is morecomplex. It can be calculated through a formula that incorporatesvarious geometrical dimensions and angles of the wall mount assembly 100and its vertical and swivel positions; alternatively, the relationshipsfor various vertical positions can be derived experimentally. A personskilled in the art would recognize after careful perusal of thisdescription and the attached drawings, that independent control of eachof the linear actuators 146 and 148 enables independent control of thevertical position and the azimuth. In other words, the linear actuators146/148 may be driven by the electronic circuitry of the wall mountassembly so that the TV 110 is (1) raised/lowered without changing theazimuth, (2) is swiveled without changing its vertical position, and (3)is raised/lowered and swiveled simultaneously in a prescribed line onthe graph plotting the vertical position versus azimuth.

The linear actuators 146/148 together are powerful enough to operate thewall mount 100 with a range of the weights of displays for which thewall mount 100 is rated, plus some reserve weight capacity. As a personskilled in the pertinent art would understand after careful perusal ofthis description and the attached drawings, it may be easier and lessexpensive to provide two smaller linear actuators instead of a singleone with twice the lifting capacity of the smaller ones. Additionally,the radius of the smaller linear actuators may be considerably smallerthe radius of the larger single linear actuator; thus, the depth of thewall mounting portion 120 may be decreased, facilitating installation inthin walls.

The electronic circuitry of the wall mount assembly 100 may include aprocessor and supporting circuitry, including memory storingmachine-executable commands (software/firmware). When the instructionsare executed by the processor, the processor, among other functions,translates commands of the user into appropriate drive for each of thelinear actuators 146/148. The linear actuators 146/148 may includesensors, such as hall effect sensors, to enable the processor to readthe position (extension length) of each of the linear actuators, andvary the drive of each of the linear actuators 146/148 to cause thelinear actuator to extend and/or retract to the desired computed length,using feedback control. The user's commands may be transmitted from aremote control device, for example, and received by a remote controlreceiver of the wall mount assembly 100.

Thus, in embodiments, the wall mount assembly 100 may include a handheldremote control unit and a receiver of the remote control unit. Throughthe remote control unit the user is enabled to issue remote commandsthat, possibly among other functions, extend/lower the display (e.g.,the TV 110) to the viewing position, retract/raise the display to thestorage position near the wall above the fireplace, place the displayinto some intermediate vertical position, and cause the display toswivel right-left. The remote control may operate, for example, over aninfrared link. The remote control may also operate through a port(serial/USB or otherwise) that may connect to an interface box throughwhich the wall mount assembly 100 connects to a smart home or businesssystem, and/or to the Internet; if the wall mount assembly 110 connectsto the smart home/business system, the commands may come via theInternet, for example, from an app running on a user's smartphone/computer/tablet, or from a remote controller of the smarthome/business system.

FIG. 8 illustrates selected components of an electronic subsystem 800 ofa wall mount system such as the wall mount assembly 100, configured inaccordance with selected features described in this document. The system800 is coupled through a communication network 820 to user devices 810,such as personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. FIG. 8 does notshow various hardware/software components and various physical andlogical interconnections of some variants. The system 800 can beimplemented, for example, as a special purpose data processor, ageneral-purpose computer, a computer system, configured to perform thesteps and functions described in this document.

The electronic subsystem 800 includes a processor 830 such as amicroprocessor or a microcontroller, read only memory (ROM) module 840,random access memory (RAM) module 850, a network interface 860 coupledto the communication network 820, a remote control receiver 870 forreceiving commands and/or data from the remote control device, and asmart home/business interface (I/O) 880. These components are coupledtogether by a bus 815, so that the processor 830 can write data into andread data from these devices. The network interface 860 couples theprocessor 830 to the communications network 820, which network mayinclude the Internet. The nature of the network 820 and of the devicesthat may be interposed between the subsystem 800 and the network 820determine the nature of the network interface 860. For example, thenetwork interface 860 may be an Ethernet interface that connects thesubsystem 800 to a local area network and through it to the Internet.Similarly, the smart home/business interface 880 couples the processor830 to the smart home/business system, and the nature of the smarthome/business system and of the devices that may be interposed betweenthe subsystem 800 and the smart home/business system determine theinterface 880. For example, the interface 880 may be an Ethernetinterface, a Wi-Fi transceiver and associated circuitry, or a USB port.

The processor 830 is configured to read and execute program codeinstructions stored in the ROM module 840. Under control of the programcode, the processor 830 configures the subsystem 800 to perform all orsome of the commands/functions, as has already been mentioned. Theprogram code instructions may also be embodied in machine-readablestorage media, such as hard drives, CD-ROMs. DVDs, flash memories, andsimilar devices that can store the instructions permanently ortemporarily, in a non-transitory manner. The program code may also betransmitted over a transmission medium, for example, over electricalwiring or cabling, through optical fiber, wirelessly, or by any otherform of physical transmission. The transmission can take place over adedicated link between telecommunication devices, or through wide- andlocal-area networks, such as the Internet, an intranet, extranet, or anyother kind of public or private network. In embodiments, the programcode is downloaded to the subsystem 800 through the network interface860 and/or the smart home/business interface 880.

FIG. 9 illustrates selected components of an electrical subsystem 900 ofa wall mount system such as the wall mount system 100, configured inaccordance with selected features described in this document. Note thatthe electrical subsystem 900 may share components with the electronicsubsystem 800, particularly the processor and instructions-storingmemory. The electrical subsystem 900 includes an electrical cord/plug112, which is also shown in FIG. 1 (plugged into a wall outlet above thefireplace 115); a parallel power splitter 915, which provides electricalpower to the TV 110 through a display line 920 and electrical socket940; and to electrical/electronic circuitry 950 of the wall mountassembly 100, through an internal power supply line 925. The powersplitter 915 may be or include simple one-into-two (or more) AC lines,such as in power strips and power bars.

Thus, one output of the power splitter 915 provides power to a displaysocket 940 through a display power line 920. The TV 110 (or anotherdisplay) may be plugged into the display socket 940 and receive from thesocket 940 power for its operation. A second output of the powersplitter 915 provides power for operation of the electrical/electroniccircuitry 950, through the internal power supply line 925. Inembodiments, the power splitter 915 may include power supplies forproviding lower voltages (lower than the voltage at the electricaloutlet) for operation of the electrical/electronic circuitry 950 and thelinear actuators 146/148; the power supply circuitry may includerectification capability and provide the lower voltages as DC ratherthan AC.

Note a current monitoring sensor 930, which may be a magneticallycoupled clamp sensor surrounding the display power line 920 and may becapable of being read by the processor of the wall mount assembly 100,such as the processor 830, under control of the machine-readableinstructions executed by the processor 830. In this way, the processor830 can measure current 945 consumed by the TV 110 plugged into theelectrical socket 940. In embodiments, the processor 830 reads thecurrent 945 at intervals between 1 millisecond and 500 millisecond; inembodiments, the processor 830 reads the current 945 between 10milliseconds and 100 milliseconds. In embodiments, the currentmonitoring sensor 930 includes one or more comparator circuits andprovides interrupts to the processor 830 when the current 945 exceeds athreshold (or one of the thresholds), and/or when the current 945 dropsbelow a threshold (or one of the thresholds). The threshold(s) may beprogrammable. The signal(s) from the current monitoring sensor 930 inputinto the comparator(s) may be filtered, for example, with low passfilter(s); the low pass filters may have time constants, for example,between 10 microseconds and 10 milliseconds.

In operation, the processor 830 executing the instructions may determinewhen the TV 110 is turned on and/or off, and take predeterminedaction(s) in response to the TV 110 being turned on and/or off. Forexample, when the processor 830 determines that the TV 110 has beenturned on (such as by the user operating a remote controller of the TV110, which may be different from the remote control device of the wallmount assembly 100 and not connected to the wall mount assembly 100),the processor 830 may cause the wall mount assembly 100 to lower the TV110 into a predetermined/preprogrammed position. Similarly, when theprocessor 830 determines that the TV 110 has been turned off (such as bythe user operating the remote controller of the TV 110), the processor830 may cause the wall mount assembly 100 to retract the TV 110 towardsthe wall above the fireplace 115.

In embodiments, the processor 830 executing the instructions determinesthat the TV 110 has just been turned off in response to sensing thecurrent 945 falling below an OFF threshold, and determines that the TV110 has been just turned ON when the current 945 when the current 945exceeds an ON threshold. The ON and OFF thresholds may be same ordifferent; the signals from the current monitoring sensor 930 into acomparator (or comparators, as the case may be) may be conditioned, forexample, using low pass filters; and the threshold(s) may beprogrammable. As a person skilled in the art would understand aftercareful perusal of this description and the attached drawings, thecomparators may be implemented, for example, using actual voltagecomparator circuits, implemented using analog-to-digital converters(ADC's) with appropriate code executed by the processor 830, implementedusing analog or digital application specific circuits, or otherwiseimplemented.

Using simple predetermined thresholds for determining when the TV isturned ON and/or OFF, however, may be problematic for at least tworeasons. First, the wall mount assembly 100 may need to accommodatedifferent TVs, with a range of power/current needs. Second, a modern TVoften or always monitors something. The “something” may be a networkconnection, a remote control device, a smart phone connected through anetwork server; some TVs monitor ambient audio. Additionally, many smartTVs periodically check for software updates and download the updateswhen needed. Thus, although the user may perceive the TV to be off, theTV may be in the “idle state” in which it consumes some non-trivialpower, and the idle state power can vary substantially from time to timeand from one TV to another. Therefore, a modern TV may consume somepower always or often enough to make reliance on simple thresholdsproblematic.

In embodiments, the processor 830 executing the instructions monitorsthe current continually, for example, every 1-10 milliseconds. (Here aseverywhere in this document, the current 945 reading may belowpass-filtered, as has already been mentioned.) The processor 830executing the instructions may store the current 945 measurements for apredetermined period of time T_(bck), such as between 1 and 10 secondsin some examples and between 3 and 6 seconds in more specific examples,and discard earlier reading(s). The processor 830 detects a currentspike that results from turning on the backlight of the TV 110. This istypically a distinct event, a high current spike with duration of theorder of a few tens or several hundred milliseconds. The spike over apredetermined spike threshold TH_(spike) may last between 10milliseconds and 500 milliseconds in some examples, and between 40milliseconds and 250 milliseconds in more specific examples; the spikethreshold TH_(spike) may be set at a relatively high level, such asabove one ampere (for 110 VAC power); the processor 830 identifies thecurrent spike accordingly, when it senses through the current monitoringsensor 930 a current exceeding the predetermined threshold TH_(spike).Once the processor 830 executing the instructions identifies such acurrent 945 spike event, it recalls from storage the recorded readingsfrom some time T_(off) earlier, before the beginning of the spike wasidentified but within T_(bck), and sets the current ON and/or OFFthresholds based on the current readings at these earlier times when theTV was in the off/idle state.

The time T_(off) may be determined, for example, by subtracting apredetermined “look back” time duration T_(lookback) from the time whenthe spike was initially detected. The processor 830 executing theinstructions may set the current ON threshold T_(hON) to the value ofthe recorded reading of the current 945 at the time T_(off) plus somepredetermined margin current amount (e.g., >100 mA) or a predeterminedpercentage (e.g., >20 percent or between 20 and 50 percent) of theearlier T_(off) reading(s) or averaged readings earlier than T_(off).The time period T_(lookback) may be, for example, greater than 100milliseconds; in more specific examples, T_(lookback) is between 500milliseconds and 1500 milliseconds. In this way, the current thresholdT_(hON) may be determined, and dynamically adjusted if the processor 830executing the instructions repeats the threshold determination on eachspike event, or on some spike events. The current threshold T_(hON) maybe adjusted through an averaging process on each or some spike events.Thus, if the TV 110 is replaced with a different model that draws moreor less current, the processor 830 executing the instructions may“learn” and store a more appropriate T_(hON).

The processor 830 executing the instructions may set the current OFFthreshold T_(hOFF) analogously, for example, to the value of therecorded reading of the current 945 at the time T_(off) plus somepredetermined margin current amount (e.g., >50 mA) or a predeterminedpercentage (e.g., >10 percent or between 10 and 30 percent) of theearlier T_(off) reading(s) or averaged readings earlier than T_(off).

Note that the processor 830 may ignore spike events with duration ofless than some predetermined duration. As has already been mentioned,the duration may be between 10 milliseconds and 500 milliseconds in someexamples; and between 40 milliseconds and 250 milliseconds in morespecific examples.

FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram illustrating selected steps anddecision blocks of a process 1000 for setting the current thresholdT_(hON). Although the process steps and decisions are describedserially, certain steps and decisions may be performed by separateelements in conjunction or in parallel, asynchronously or synchronously,in a pipelined manner, or otherwise. There is no particular requirementthat the steps and decisions be performed in the same order in whichthis description lists them, except where a specific order is inherentlyrequired, explicitly indicated, or is otherwise made clear to a personskilled in the art from the context. Furthermore, not every illustratedstep and decision block may be required in every embodiment inaccordance with the invention, while some steps and decision blocks thathave not been specifically illustrated, may be desirable or necessary insome embodiments in accordance with the invention.

At flow point 1001, the wall mount assembly 100 is powered up,initialized, and ready to perform the process 1000.

In step 1005, the current consumed by the TV is read, for example, bythe processor 830 through the current monitoring sensor 930.

In step 1010, the current reading from the previous step is stored, forexample, in the RAM module 850 or in another memory/storage accessibleby the processor 830.

In decision block 1015, it is determined whether the current readingfrom the step exceeds the predetermined and relatively high spikethreshold TH_(spike).

If the current reading from the step 1005 does not exceed the spikethreshold, process flow may continue from the decision block 1015 tostep 1050, to discard old current reading(s) from T_(bck) back.Alternatively, old current readings may be discarded periodically or atpredetermined times or when memory needs to be freed for otheroperations, or otherwise.

If the current reading from the step 1005 exceeds the spike threshold,the process flow may continue from the decision block 1015 to step 1020,to start a spike timer.

In step 1025, the current consumed by the TV is read, for example, bythe processor 830 through the current monitoring sensor 930. This isanalogous to the step 1005.

In decision block 1030, it is determined whether the current readingfrom the step 1025 exceeds a predetermined and relatively high spikethreshold. As a person skilled in the pertinent art would understandafter careful perusal of this description and the attached drawings, thespike threshold in the decision block 1030 may be the same orsubstantially the same as the spike threshold TH_(spike) of the decisionblock 1015. It may also differ, but still be relatively high; inexamples, the spike threshold of the decision block 1030 is set 5-25percent below the spike threshold TH_(spike) of the decision block 1015,to provide some hysteresis and not exit the timer loop (steps/decisions1020-1035) prematurely.

If the current reading from the step 1025 does not exceed the threshold,the process flow continues from the decision block 1030 to the step1050, and then back to the step 1005.

Otherwise, the process flow continues from the decision block 1030 todecision block 1035, where the spike timer is checked. If the spiketimer has not expired, the process flow returns from the decision block1035 to the step 1025.

If the spike timer has expired, the process flow continues from thedecision block 1035 to step 1040, to set the current ON thresholdT_(hON). As has already been discussed, the recorded current readingsfrom the time T_(off) may be recalled from memory. The time T_(off) maybe determined, for example, by subtracting the predetermined look backtime duration T_(lookback) from the time when the spike was initiallydetected in the decision block 1015. The current ON threshold T_(hON)may be set to the value of the recorded reading of the current 945 atthe time T_(off) adjusted by a predetermined margin current amount ormargin percentage, and multiple current readings near and/or earlierthan T_(off) may be averaged or otherwise combined. The time periodT_(lookback) may be, for example, greater than 100 milliseconds; in morespecific examples, T_(lookback) is between 500 milliseconds and 1500milliseconds.

The current threshold T_(hON) may be adjusted through an averagingprocess across different spike events, in addition to or instead ofaveraging the current readings near T_(off) associated with a singlespike event. For example, if a first spike event results in acomputation of T_(hON)=V1, (without averaging over multiple spikeevents), and a second spike event results in a computation of T_(hON)=V2(also without averaging over multiple spike events), the second T_(hON)may then be averaged with the first T_(hON), and the second adjustedT_(hON) may be set to (V1+V2)/2. In examples, a weighted moving averagetechnique may be used, with more than two values. These are, of course,just examples.

The process 1000 may then terminate at flow point 1099, to be repeatedas needed and/or desired.

The OFF threshold T_(hOFF) may be set in a process similar to theprocess 1000, using a different computation (margins) in the step 1040.In examples, however, T_(hON) and T_(hOFF) are the same, at least beforeaveraging over multiple spike events.

Turning now back to FIG. 5, a temperature sensor, such as a thermistoror a thermocouple, may be installed in the locations 510. As a personskilled in the pertinent art would understand after careful perusal ofthis description and the attached drawings, the temperature sensor maybe installed in other locations, and there may be several temperaturesensors built into or added to various locations of the wall mountassembly 100. But there is generally an advantage to install thetemperature sensor on or near the display mounting portion 130, so thatthere is a close relationship between the temperature reading of thetemperature sensor and the ambient temperature to which the TV 110 oranother display is subjected. Particularly in installations near afireplace, there may be an advantage in installing the sensor towardsthe bottom of the display mounting portion 130, so that the temperaturesensor is in a location that may be exposed to the increased temperaturenear the fireplace.

In operation, the temperature sensor is (or sensors are, as the case maybe) read by the processor 830 executing the instructions. Here, as inthe case of the signal provided by the current monitoring sensor 930,the signal from the temperature sensor may be processed with a low passfilter, whether software or hardware, to eliminate spurious signals; thetime constant for the filter may be, for example, between 3 and 40seconds. When the temperature reading exceeds some predeterminedthreshold, for example, set between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius, theprocessor 830 takes predetermined action(s). If the wall mount assembly100 is in the extended position, for example, the processor 830executing the instructions may activate the linear actuators 146/148 tostraighten and retract the TV 110. Further, the processor 830 executingthe instructions may communicate with one of the user devices 810through the network interface 860 and the communication network 820,informing the user or another person/entity of the dangerous temperaturerise. Similarly, the processor 830 may communicate with the smarthome/business system through the smart home/business interface 880,informing the smart home/business system of the temperature rise, andpossibly causing a fire or other alarm and/or warning. An advantage ofthis configuration is that the temperature sensor of the wall mountassembly 100 is near the fireplace and may provide an earlier alarm thana smoke detector installed farther from a potential ignition source.

As has already been mentioned, when the processor 830 determines thatthe TV 110 has been turned on, the processor 830 may cause the wallmount assembly 100 to lower the TV 110 into predetermined or position.The predetermined position may be pre-programmed by the user or theinstaller, for example. The user may also issue a command to the wallmount assembly 100, to cause the wall mount assembly 100 to place the TV110 into a selected pre-programmed position, for example, through theremote control device of the wall mount assembly 100. The remote controldevice may enable the user to program the positions, and to select theparticular position. For example, the remote control device may includebuttons for the user to vary the elevation and azimuth of the wall mountassembly 100, thereby enabling the user to place the TV 110 into adesirable watching position. The remote control device may also havebuttons for memorizing the selected positions, and then recalling themin the future, to place the TV 110 into a selected watching position asthe user desires.

FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram illustrating selected steps anddecision blocks of a process 1100 for enabling the user or installer toprogram a viewing position. Although the process steps and decisions (ifpresent) are described serially, certain steps and decisions may beperformed by separate elements in conjunction or in parallel,asynchronously or synchronously, in a pipelined manner, or otherwise.There is no particular requirement that the steps and decisions beperformed in the same order in which this description lists them, exceptwhere a specific order is inherently required, explicitly indicated, oris otherwise made clear from the context. Furthermore, not everyillustrated step and decision block may be required in every embodimentin accordance with the invention, while some steps and decision blocksthat have not been specifically illustrated, may be desirable ornecessary in some embodiments in accordance with the invention.

At flow point 1101, the wall mount assembly 100 is powered up,initialized, and ready to perform the process 1100.

In step 1110, the processor 830 receives command(s) from theuser/installer to change elevation and/or azimuth of the TV 110, andmoves the TV 110 accordingly. The commands may be received through theremote control receiver 870. The processor 830 performs the command(s),by controlling the drive of the linear actuators 146/148 responsive tothe received commands, changing the elevation and/or azimuthaccordingly.

In step 1120, the processor 830 receives a command to memorize thecurrent position (elevation, azimuth). For example, this command mayalso be received through the remote control receiver 870. The commandmay include a specific designation of the position, that is,correspondence of the position to a particular button of the remotecontrol device for future recall (e.g., a button on the remote controldevice marked as “Position 1”).

In response to the command received to memorize, in step 1130, theprocessor reads the position sensors of the linear actuators (such asthe hall effect sensors of the linear actuators).

In step 1140, the processor 830 stores the readings of the sensors(position readings) in memory, such as in the RAM module 850 or inanother memory/storage accessible by the processor 830, whether locally(in the electronic subsystem 800) and/or remotely (through the networkinterface 860 or the smart home/business interface 880). The localmemory where the position is stored may be persistent, such as batterybacked memory, flash memory, magnetic memory. The memory where theprocessor 830 may also or instead The processor 830 is configured toreceive user command (e.g., from the remote control device, through theremote control receiver 870) to configure/place the wall mount assembly100 in the memorized position, by controlling the drive into the linearactuators 146/148.

The process 1100 may then terminate at flow point 1199, to be repeatedas needed and/or desired, for example, to memorize one or moreadditional viewing positions. The position (elevation, azimuth) is nowready for recall, for example, in response to a user command to positionthe TV 110 in the memorized position, which command may also be receivedfrom the remote control device through the remote control receiver 870.For example, the processor 830 may configure the wall mount assembly 100in the memorized position in response to receiving through the remotecontrol receiver 870 a user/installer command corresponding to pressingof the same button that was used to memorize the position (“Position 1”button, if it was used to memorize the position).

The wall mount assembly 100 may similarly be programmed to recognizeprogrammable or “soft” stops, beyond which the wall mount assembly 100will not move the TV 110 in either the azimuth or vertical direction.The process may be analogous to the process 1100, with the step 1140A“STORE CURRENT POSITION AS SOFT STOP” replacing the step 1140 shown inFIG. 11. Additionally or instead, the wall mount assembly 100 may learnthe soft stops automatically. To do this, the wall mount assembly 100may be equipped with sensors that measure when either of the linearactuators 146/148 fails to move the TV 110 despite being driven by theprocessor 830. For example, the wall mount assembly 100 may be equippedwith sensors that sense the current used by the linear actuators. Whenthe current increases beyond a predetermined threshold, the processor830 determines that there is an obstruction in the direction in whichthe linear actuator attempts to move the TV 110; the predeterminedcurrent threshold (for the purpose of detecting an obstruction) may beobtained from a graph of current versus position for each of the linearactuators 146/148, or may be set to some value regardless of theposition of the linear actuator. The graph may be selected for the wallmount assembly 100 by the user/installer by programming the make/modelnumber or other parameters of the TV 110. The wall mount assembly 100may store the graphs for various TVs/displays, e.g., in the ROM module840, the RAM module 850, or another memory accessible by the processor830 directly or through the network 820.

As another example, the processor 830 may monitor the feedback from theposition sensors in the linear actuators (such as the hall effectsensors) and determine that an obstructions has been encountered in thedirection in which the actuator attempts to move the TV 110 when themovement stops or is slowed down substantially (e.g., more than 50percent) from what is expected given the drive provided to theactuator(s) and the position(s) of the actuator(s). When the processor830 determines that an obstruction has been encountered, the processor830 stores the position (azimuth and/or elevation) in the memory as anobstruction, including the direction in which the movement of thedisplay mounting portion 130 with the TV 110 mounted on it wasobstructed. The processor 830 then avoids driving the linear actuators146/148 in a way that would attempt to move the display mounting portion130 with the TV 110 mounted on it past the obstruction in thatdirection. In embodiments, the processor 830 leaves a small spatialmargin, say ⅛ to ½ inch between the display mounting portion 130 withthe TV 110 mounted on it and the memorized obstruction.

In embodiments, the processor 830 memorizes/stores an obstruction pointwith its associated direction after multiple detections of anobstruction within some predetermined distance of each other. Forexample, the processor may memorize an obstruction and its associateddirection if the obstruction has been detected three times within ½ inchof each other, and in generally the same direction.

Turning next to the remote control device used for remotely controllingthe wall mount assembly 100, the device may transmit commands usinginfrared radiation, and the remote control receiver 870 then may be aninfrared receiver. In embodiments, however, the remote control devicetransmits commands using radio frequency (RF), and the remote controlreceiver 870 is an RF receiver. This has a distinct advantage ofallowing a greater range of locations for mounting the remote controlreceiver 870, without regard to line of sight operation and theobstruction by the movable components of the wall mount assembly 100,such as the extending/contracting portion 140 and the display mountingportion 130 with the TV 110 mounted on it.

The features of TV/display mount assemblies described throughout thisdocument may be present individually or in any combination orpermutation, except where the presence or absence of specificelements/limitations is inherently required, explicitly indicated, orotherwise made clear from the context. Not every illustrated element isnecessarily required in every embodiment in accordance with the conceptsdescribed in this document, while some elements that have not beenspecifically illustrated may be desirable in some embodiments inaccordance with the concepts.

This document describes in detail the inventive wall mount assembliesand their operations. This was done for illustration purposes and,therefore, the foregoing description and the Figures are not necessarilyintended to limit the spirit and scope of the invention(s) described.The features of TV/display mount assemblies described throughout thisdocument may be present individually or in any combination orpermutation, except where the presence or absence of specificelements/limitations is inherently required, explicitly indicated, orotherwise made clear from the context. Not every illustrated element isnecessarily required in every embodiment described in this document,while some elements that have not been specifically illustrated may bedesirable in some embodiments. Neither the specific embodiments of theinvention(s) as a whole, nor those of its (or their, as the case may be)features necessarily limit the general principles underlying theinvention(s). The specific features described herein may be used in someembodiments, but not in others, without departure from the spirit andscope of the invention(s) as set forth herein. Various physicalarrangements of components and various step sequences also fall withinthe intended scope of the invention(s). Many additional modificationsare intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it will be appreciated bythose of ordinary skill in the pertinent art that in some instances somefeatures will be employed in the absence of a corresponding use of otherfeatures. The embodiments described above are illustrative and notnecessarily limiting, although they or their selected features may belimiting for some claims. The illustrative examples therefore do notnecessarily define the metes and bounds of the invention(s) and thelegal protection afforded the invention(s).

What is claimed is:
 1. A mounting device, comprising: a wall mountingportion configured to attach to a wall and comprising vertical supportmembers; a display mounting portion configured to receive a display; andan extending/contracting portion between the wall mounting portion andthe display mounting portion; wherein: the extending/contracting portioncomprises: a first lower arm having first lower arm rear and front ends;a second lower arm having second lower arm rear and front ends; a firstupper arm having first upper arm rear and front ends; a second upper armhaving second upper arm rear and front ends; a rear upper axle extendingthrough the vertical support members and rotatably attaching the firstupper arm at the first upper arm rear end and the second upper arm atthe second upper arm rear end to the wall mounting portion; a rear loweraxle parallel to the rear upper axle and extending through the wallmounting portion below the rear upper axle, the rear lower axlerotatably attaching the first lower arm at the first lower arm rear endand the second lower arm at the second lower arm rear end to the wallmounting portion; a first linear actuator having rear and front ends,the first linear actuator rear end being rotatably attached to the wallmounting portion below the rear upper axle; a second linear actuatorhaving rear and front ends, the second linear actuator rear end beingrotatably attached to the wall mounting portion below the rear upperaxle; a left front vertical member having upper and lower ends; a rightfront vertical member having upper and lower ends; an upper horizontalfront member having left and right ends, the upper horizontal frontmember left end being rotatably attached to the first upper arm frontend and to the left front vertical member upper end, the upperhorizontal front member right end being rotatably attached to the secondupper arm front end and to the right front vertical member upper end; alower horizontal front member having left and right ends, the lowerhorizontal front member left end being rotatably attached to the firstlower arm front end and to the left front vertical member lower end, thelower horizontal front member right end being rotatably attached to thesecond lower arm front end and to the right front vertical member lowerend; a vertical rod attached to the upper horizontal front member midwaybetween the upper horizontal front member left and right ends, andattached to the lower horizontal front member midway between the lowerhorizontal front member left and right ends; and a horizontallyswiveling portion comprising a vertical rotational component, one ormore horizontal attachment components, and a joint attachment bar havinga left actuator attachment joint connected to the first linear actuatorfront end and a right actuator attachment joint connected to the secondlinear actuator front end, the vertical rotational component configuredto rotate right-left about the vertical rod together with the jointattachment bar in response to differential extension and contraction ofthe first and second linear actuators, the one or more horizontalattachment components configured to rotate right-left with the verticalrotational component and the joint attachment bar, the display mountingportion being configured to rotate right-left together with the one ormore horizontal attachment components; wherein the mounting device isconfigured to move the display mounting portion vertically in responseto the first and second linear actuators parallel operation and rotatethe display mounting portion right-left in response to the first andsecond linear actuators differential operation.
 2. The mounting deviceas in claim 1, wherein: the upper horizontal front member comprises anupper front axle and an upper front tubular component surrounding theupper front axle: the lower horizontal front member comprises a lowerfront axle and a lower front tubular component surrounding the lowerfront axle; and the vertical rotational component comprises a tubularportion surrounding the vertical rod.
 3. The mounting device as in claim2, wherein: the first linear actuator rear end is attached to the wallmounting portion forward of the rear upper axle; and the second linearactuator rear end is attached to the wall mounting portion forward ofthe rear upper axle.
 4. The mounting device as in claim 3, wherein thesecond linear actuator is substantially the same as the first linearactuator.
 5. The mounting device as in claim 1, wherein: the firstlinear actuator comprises a first position sensor configured to indicateextension length of the first linear actuator; and the second linearactuator comprises a second position sensor configured to indicateextension length of the second linear actuator.
 6. The mounting deviceas in claim 5, further comprising an electronic subsystem coupled to thefirst and second linear actuators to control extension and contractionof the first and second linear actuators, and to read the first andsecond position sensors.
 7. The mounting device as in claim 6, whereinthe first and second position sensors are hall effect sensors.
 8. Themounting device as in claim 6, wherein the electronic subsystemcomprises a processing device and one or more memories, at least one ofthe one or more memories storing code executable by the processingdevice.
 9. The mounting device as in claim 8, wherein the electronicsubsystem further comprises a remote control receiver coupled to theprocessing device to allow the processing device to read commandsreceived by the remote control receiver from a handheld remotecontroller of the mounting device.
 10. The mounting device as in claim9, wherein the remote control receiver is an infrared receiver designedto receive the commands from the handheld remote controller through aninfrared channel.
 11. The mounting device as in claim 9, wherein theremote control receiver is a radio frequency (RF) receiver designed toreceive the commands from the handheld remote controller through an RFchannel.
 12. The mounting device as in claim 8, wherein the codecomprises instructions to receive commands to change elevation andazimuth of the display mounting portion, and to provide drive to thefirst and second linear actuators to execute the commands.
 13. Themounting device as in claim 12, wherein the code further comprisesinstructions to memorize elevation and azimuth of the display mountingportion.
 14. The mounting device as in claim 12, wherein the codefurther comprises instructions to obtain readings of the first andsecond position sensors and to memorize elevation and azimuth of thedisplay mounting portion based on the readings of the first and secondposition sensors.
 15. The mounting device as in claim 14, wherein thecode further comprises instructions to receive commands to place thedisplay mounting portion at the memorized elevation and azimuth, and todrive the first and second linear actuators so that the display mountingportion is placed in the memorized elevation and azimuth.
 16. Themounting device as in claim 14, wherein the code further comprisesinstructions to receive commands to memorize a soft stop at thememorized elevation and azimuth, and to prevent driving the first andsecond linear actuators beyond the memorized elevation and azimuth. 17.The mounting device as in claim 14, further comprising means forautomatically learning one or more soft stops.
 18. The mounting deviceas in claim 8, further comprising a temperature sensor, wherein the codefurther comprises instructions to obtain readings of the temperaturesensor and to drive the first and second linear actuators to retract thewall mounting portion in response to one or more of the readingsexceeding a predetermined maximum temperature limit.
 19. A mountingdevice, comprising: a wall mounting portion configured to attach to awall; a display mounting portion configured to receive a display; anextending/contracting portion between the wall mounting portion and thedisplay mounting portion, the extending contracting portion comprisingone or more linear actuators, each linear actuator of the one or morelinear actuators comprising a position sensor, a processing device andmemory coupled to the processing device and storing machine-executablecode, the processing device being configured to control extension andcontraction of the one or more linear actuators and to read the positionsensors of the one or more linear actuators; and an electrical subsystemconfigured to receive electrical power and to provide electrical powerto the display mounted on the display mounting portion, the electricalsubsystem comprising a sensor of current consumed by the display, thesensor of the current being coupled to the processing device so that theprocessing device is configured to obtain readings of the currentconsumed by the display; wherein the code comprises instructions toimplement means for identifying when the display is turned ON andplacing the display mounting portion in a predetermined position inresponse to the display being turned ON.
 20. The mounting device as inclaim 19, wherein the code further comprises instructions to implementmeans for identifying when the display is turned OFF and retracting thedisplay mounting portion in response to the display being turned OFF.21. A mounting device, comprising: a wall mounting portion configured toattach to a wall; a display mounting portion configured to receive adisplay; and an extending/contracting portion between the wall mountingportion and the display mounting portion; wherein: theextending/contracting portion comprises means for varying elevation andazimuth of the display mounting portion.